Orwen moved toward Seth, his hand reaching out and grasping his shoulders. "Can I—"

"Easy, Orwen," Professor Reat intervened. "Let's not squash my candidate, please."

"Alright, alright," he answered, slightly releasing his hold on Seth. "Any chance I could talk to your father? Maybe get some pointers?"

People don't know, Seth thought, his expression darkening. "Sorry uh, my father is dead. He fled Draeria and settled here, but a noble sold him out, and a Draerian legion killed him ten years ago."

Orwen's enthusiasm evaporated. "Oh, kid, that's… I'm sorry, I had no id—" He paused abruptly, his brow furrowing. "Wait, you said ten years?"

Celine suddenly cut in from behind the counter. "Your father… did he have any ties with the king?"

"Yeah," Seth answered, his stomach twisting in knots as the eyes from all Champions of Chaos widened. They all knew about the rebellion. And from the look on Celine's face, they'd probably even participated in it. "But… not by choice. All he wanted was a quiet place to raise me. But no matter where we went, people eventually found out about his past. So he struck a deal with the king here… to keep me and my mother safe."

Celine's face lost its usual brightness, and her eyes seemed to shimmer a little, as if water had started covering them. "Stopping the coup in exchange for the king's silence."

Seth nodded, conflicted emotions churning within his chest. He knew enough about the king's politics to know the man was a selfish tyrant driven only by greed, but if people hadn't tried to overthrow him, maybe Seth's parents would still be alive.

Wars and rebellions always came with sacrifice, yet it was infinitely harder to accept it when the victims were his parents. Was them dying really worth it? Could anyone guarantee the next king would have treated the commoners better and lifted off the oppressive taxes and laws?

Toren let out a heavy sigh. "He did what was best for his family—I respect that. But kid, your father really cost us a chance at getting a better leader for Kastal by stopping that rebellion," he said before nodding toward Celine and Orwen. "And many lost family and friends because of it."

Seth's throat tightened, and he bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

Orwen waved it off with a warm smile. "It's fine, kid. That was a decade ago, and it isn't your fault. We won't hold a grudge." The bearded man then glanced at Celine. "Right, sis?"

Celine nodded, wiping her eyes. "Yeah, we'll just stop getting impressed when you come back from a month-long hunt with hundreds of beaststones in your pouch."

"But some of the Great Houses who lost thousands of men might think differently," Professor Reat added, leaning back in his chair. "So if I were you, I'd continue to keep my mouth shut for as long as you can."

"Oh, come on, they'll get over it in no time," Yline retorted from her workbench before giving Seth a thumb-up. "Give him a few years. He'll definitely take the king down by himself. Well, with the help of my gear, of course."

Seth rubbed his neck, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, ma'am, but I'll probably get killed by getting involved in some nobles' bullshit before that."

Professor Reat shot him a killing glare. "What are you up to?"

Seth sighed, realizing there was no point in holding back. So, he laid everything out to everyone of the Champions of Chaos—starting with how he'd uncovered the Black Hounds' trafficking network in the Fishlords' Rift and their deep-rooted ties to Faertis House through the enhancers and Lucius. Then, he revealed his findings on the current trading location and the abduction of his two fellow Primalists, something he had not yet told Professor Reat.

The second he finished, Orwen burst into laughter, turning to Celine. "You should have hired him for the investigation, not the Detective Crew."

"Why didn't you tell Reat or me that they are currently operating in the Desert of Misery?" Celine groaned, rubbing her temples. "You could've saved me some coins, and we might've acted sooner."

"Sorry, ma'am. I just learned about it a few minutes ago."

"Wait," Professor Reat interjected, raising his hand while straightening him. "Don't tell me you are planning to go into an overgrown Rift to rescue them alone?"

"That's right," Seth answered, forcing a broad grin before pulling out his combat gauntlets. "I just dropped by to see if Yline could repair my gauntlets before I leave."

Professor Reat facepalmed. "Dolomiris gives me strength. Why'd Gaia give that idiot such a tiny brain?"

"Oh come on, Calvin," Orwen said with a chuckle, padding Seth's back. "Our new recruit has guts! I'm pretty sure his old man didn't get that strong without taking any risks!"

'I like that guy,' Nightmare said from within Seth's necklace.

'Same.'

Next to Professor Rear, Toren rose to his feet cautiously, making sure he didn't spill any beer from his mug before pointing at Seth. "Having guts is fine, but Yline and I watched the kid in action today. And I don't see how he'll survive. He nearly lost to lower-Rank Rogue."

"What?" Seth exclaimed, taken aback.

"I agree with Toren," Yline said, her lips pressed together. "Sorry, kid."

Defiance flashed in Seth's eyes as he crossed his arms. "Who says I went all out?"

The Blacksmith raised her chin, clearly skeptical. "Oh, really? So, you got hit by that Blazing Eagle Arrow on purpose?"

Before the woman could finish, Seth vanished and reappeared next to her, emerging from her anvil's shadow, arms still crossed. "Does this change your mind?"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Yline's eyes widened, then her face lit up. "You sneaky little—"

"How in the hell do you have Shadow Step?" Lyria blurted out, staring at Seth in disbelief. "You're Iron! And you're not even a Rogue!"

'You had to use it, didn't you?' Nightmare grumbled inside the teardrop necklace.

'Well, that's a nice spell that's for sure,' Seth answered to the direwolf before turning to Lyria. "My subclass' Revelation lets me copy one of my contracted beast's spells for a short moment," he explained, covering the truth with a tiny bit of lie.

"Holy hell, that's powerful!" Orwen exclaimed. Then, his gaze landed on Seth's gauntlets, and he frowned. "Hold on a second! You're all letting our new recruit fight with Common-grade gear? Seriously?"

Yline shrugged, palms up. "Hey, he's the one who wanted combat gauntlets."

"Couldn't you have made them Rare? Or at least even Uncommon?" Orwen asked. "We can't let him dive into the overgrown Rift like that. He's basically naked!"

The blacksmith arched an eyebrow. "You're paying for him?"

"I sure am!" Orwen declared, grinning from ear to ear and turning toward the table of three. "Toren, think you can craft him something that could help him get out of trouble? A few single-use items? Something that could take out a horde of… uh, what's the main beast in that Rift again?"

"Gnolls," Seth answered, quite happy that someone was going to bankroll him.

"A horde of Gno—oh, hmm, that's annoying." Orwen paused and stroked his silver beard. "Some bombs could allow you to get in their base, but it won't be enough. Those ugly bastards are tricky to fight. Lyria, mind giving him some tips on fighting them?"

"Sure," the blond archer answered, tapping the chair next to her. "Come sit. Calvin will help."

"No, no, I've got work to do," Professor Reat protested, standing up.

Orwen chuckled and pushed him back onto his seat. "It's your recruit, lazybones, you're helping."

An exasperated look washed over Professor Reat's face as he slowly turned to Seth. His lips moved silently, mouthing five words: 'You will pay for this.'

The next day, Seth raced across a rugged plain as the sun broke the horizon, its red rays slipping through the scattered clouds. Beside him, Nightmare matched his pace effortlessly, the landscape blurring past them. Thanks to Orwen, Seth had received invaluable support from everyone the previous evening. Professor Reat and Lyria had spent hours going over Gnolls' fighting style, emphasizing how much those foes relied on physical attributes and compensated for their lack of long-range spells with Artificers' devices or war tools like arcane cannons.

Seth glanced down at his newly upgraded gauntlets, marveling at Yline's handiwork, funded by Orwen. They were almost unrecognizable from what they'd been before, with the black leather and golden runes covering them. Like the armor, belt, and bracelet Orwen had loaned him, though, he would have to pay for them later on or give them back.

Dark Boar Gauntlets

Weapon

Tier: Iron

Grade: Uncommon

Effects:

- Ignores 7% of Toughness.

- Increases Toughness by 6%.

- Reduces aether cost by 9% for any spell using hands/arms.

Reinforced Wild Boar Armor

Armor

Tier: Iron

Grade: Rare

Effects:

- Increases Toughness by 7%.

- Increases Agility by 8%.

- Reduce duration of Iron immobilizing spells by 30%.

Swift Eagle Bracelet

Artifact / Bracelet

Tier: Iron

Grade: Rare

Effects:

- On activation, increases the owner's Agility by 30 and reduce immobilizing spells' effect by 50%.

- Consumes 90 uniums per minute.

- Capacity of 540 uniums (540/540).

- Aether can be stored for up to 48 hours.

Fine Protecting Belt

Artifact / Belt

Tier: Iron

Grade: Epic

Effects:

- On activation, forms an aether barrier around the owner.

- Capacity of 600 uniums (600/600).

- Aether can be stored for up to 48 hours.

In the end, it was Toren who had contributed the most with an impressive arsenal of Artificers' devices. Seth's Endless Pouch now held nearly a dozen of the man's creations: four single-use wands that could unleash powerful spells with little to no aether, two small cubes designed to block detecting wards, and five compact bombs with enough destructive power to severely injure several Gnolls at once. For a typical Iron Wielder, each of these devices represented a month's earnings, so he would have to use them with parsimony.

Despite all this, Orwen and Celine had insisted that Seth should get out as quickly as possible once he rescued his two fellow Primalists. Staying in the Rift was a gamble that could cost him his life. The presence of Platinum beasts brought an overly high risk for an Iron like him—even if he didn't run into any of them.

According to Lyria and Professor Reat, all entities that reached the Platinum Tier started constantly emitting a small amount of aether, which disrupted the natural flow of the surrounding energy.

For Wielders that were Gold or higher, it hardly mattered, but for lower Tiers it was a completely different story. Those distortion fields, spanning over dozens of miles in some cases, altered the aether enough that it couldn't be channeled properly outside one's body—which made Irons like Seth unable to use enchanted gear, Artificers' devices, and most importantly, instant spell-scrolls like Escape.

'I still think we should look for a Desert Snake's beaststone while in there,' Nightmare said beside him as they ran. 'It's in your father's recipe. That thing would certainly produce Rare or even Epic gauntlets.'

Seth shook his head. "That's far too risky. If we get caught in one of those distortion fields and can't use Escape, we're dead."

After two hours of relentless jogging, Seth spotted their destination ahead and moved back Nightmare into his necklace. Nestled beside a large, solitary boulder in the landscape, a small shimmering portal hovered above the ground like a mirage. A weathered sign stood next to it, the inscription on its beaten surface barely readable: 'Desert of Misery.'

After taking a moment to gather his resolve, Seth closed his eyes and stepped through the portal. Immediately, he felt himself pulled and pushed as everything around him swirled into blinding flashes. Then, just as abruptly as it had started, it stopped, and he was struck by a scorching wave of heat.

Opening his eyes, Seth found himself standing on the boundary of two different sections of the Rift. To his left stretched out a red-clay desert, punctuated by colossal, monumental stones that protruded from the ground like ancient, petrified giants. The terrain was rugged and dried, with only sparse patches of greenery nearby barely clinging to life. The enormous monoliths cast long, irregular shadows, creating a pattern of light and darkness that played across the red clay.

On his right, the landscape transformed dramatically and turned into an endless expanse of golden dunes devoid of any vegetation. The desert's sand undulated like waves in a frozen sea of sand that reached the horizon without any shade to protect against the merciless sun.

Seth stood still for a brief moment, taking in the sight as Nightmare emerged from his beast-holder. Based on Lyria's and Celine's intel, the Rift's most-powerful beasts would only roam in the ocean of golden sand on the right, so as long as he didn't go there he shouldn't encounter any distortion fields.

'Let's get going,' he said, taking a deep breath of the warm air.

Nightmare simply nodded in reply, and they set off toward the red-clay desert.

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